Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2005
Publisher
Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Abstract
We present an economic framework to revisit and reframe some important debates over the nature of free versus unfree labor and the economic consequences of emancipation. We use a simple general equilibrium model in which labor can be either free or coerced and where land and labor will be exchanged on markets that can be competitive or manipulated or via other non-market collusive arrangements. By working with variants of the same basic model under different assumptions about initial economy-wide factor endowments and asset ownership we can compare equilibrium distributional outcomes under different institutional and contractual arrangements including markets with free labor and free tenancy, slavery, and tenancy arrangements with tied labor-service obligations. Analysis of these different contractual and organizational forms yields insights that accord with common sense, but that are often overlooked or downplayed in academic debates, particularly amongst economists.
Recommended Citation
Conning, Jonathan H. and Kevane, Michael, Freedom, Servitude and Voluntary Labor (June 2005). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=825167 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.825167
